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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive
Patch at left contributed by Mike Smolinski, Patch at right US Navy photo NH 84238-KN from the US Navy History and Heritage Command

Tab contributed by Al Grazevich

USS Jupiter (AVS-8)
ex
 USS Jupiter (AK-43) (1942 - 1945)


International Radio Call Signs,

USS Jupiter (AK-43)
1942 International Radio Call Sign:
Nan - Oboe - Peter - Fox
 NOPF
USS Jupiter (AVS-8)
1944 International Radio Call Sign:
Nan - Charlie - Baker - Victor
 NCBV
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons




Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - China Service Medal (extended) - American Campaign Medal
Second Row - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (6) - World War II Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp)
Third Row - National Defense Service Medal (2) - Korean Service Medal (7) - Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (1-Congo 3-Vietnam)
Fourth Row - United Nations Service Medal - Philippines Liberation Medal (1) - Republic of Korea War Service Medal (retroactive)
Personnel Awards

Bronze Star, LTjg. Fred Moffett, Purple Heart Earl Dotson MoMM3/c, Frank C. Andrews S1/c
Aldebaran Class Cargo Ship
  • Built in 1939, as MV Flying Cloud, a Maritime Commission type (C-2) hull, under a Maritime Commission contract (MC hull 17) at Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Co., Kearny, N.J.
  • Renamed MV Santa Catalina in November 1940
  • Acquired by the Navy, 19 June 1941
  • Commissioned, USS Jupiter (AK-43), 22 August 1942, LCDR. Duncan S. Baker, USN in command
  • During World War II USS Jupiter (AK-43) was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater and participated in the following campaigns:

    World War II Campaigns
    Gilbert Islands operation, 21 November to 8 December 1943 Leyte operation
    Leyte landings, 16 to 30 October and 9 to 29 November 1944
    Marianas operation
    Capture and occupation of Saipan, 15 to 26 June 1944     		Iwo Jima operation
    Assault and occupation of Iwo Jima, 19 February to 14 March 1945
    Western Caroline Islands operation
    Capture and occupation of southern Palau Islands, 6 September to 1 October 1944     		Okinawa Gunto operation
    Assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto, 24 to 29 June 1945

  • Redesignated Jupiter Class Aviation Stores Issue Ship (AVS-8), 31 July 1945
  • Following World War II USS Jupiter was assigned to Occupation and China service in the Far East for the following periods:

    Navy Occupation Service Medal
    China Service Medal (extended)
    25 March to 22 July 194625 March to 22 July 1946
    12 September to 7 October 194612 September to 7 October 1946
    11 January to 1 February 194711 January to 1 February 1947

  • Decommissioned, 23 May 1947, at San Diego, CA.
  • Laid up in the Pacific Reserve Fleet, San Diego Group
  • Recommissioned, 10 October 1950, CDR. H. R. McKibben in command
  • During the Korean War USS Jupiter (AVS-8) participated in the following campaigns:

    Korean War Campaigns
    First UN Counter Offensive
    15 April 1951     		Korean Defense Summer-Fall 1952
    13 to 15 May 1952
    30 June 1 July 1952
    Communist China Spring Offensive
    3 to 9 May 1951
    6 to 8 July 1951     		Third Korean Winter
    28 to 31 March 1953
    2 April 1953
    UN Summer-Fall Offensive
    12 to 14 September 1951
    24 to 25 October 1951     		Korean Summer-Fall 1953
    8 to 9 May 1953
    14 to 15 May 1953
    28 June 1953
    7 to 10 and 25 to 27 July 1953
    Second Korean Winter
    11 December 1951
    30 January to 4 February 1952
    14 to 15 March 1952
    14 to 16 April 1952     		 

  • USS Jupiter was again assigned to Occupation service in the Far East from 15 to 16 September 1954
  • Decommissioned in June 1964
  • Custody transferred to the Maritime Administration (MARAD) for lay up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Olympia, WA., 25 June 1964
  • Permanent title transferred to MARAD, 1 August 1965
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 1 August 1965
  • USS Jupiter earned six battle stars for World War II and seven battle stars for Korean War service
  • Final Disposition, sold for scrapping, 12 March 1971, to Zidell Explorations Inc.
    Specifications
    Displacement 7,293 t.(lt) 13,900 t.(fl)
    Length 459' 2"
    Beam 63'
    Draft 25' 10"
    Speed 16.4 kts. (trial)
    Complement
    Officers 24
    Enlisted 221
    Largest Boom Capacity 30 t.
    Cargo Capacity 7,500 t.
    non-refrigerated 494,667 Cu Ft .
    Armament
    one single 5"/38 cal dual gun mount
    four single 3"/50 cal dual purpose gun mounts
    four single 20mm AA gun mounts
    Fuel Capacity - NSFO 9,055 Bbls
    Propulsion
    one General Electric geared turbine
    two Babcock and Wilcox D-type boilers, 465psi 765°
    double General Electric Main Reduction Gear
    three 250Kw 120V/240V D.C. Ship's Service Generators
    single propeller, 6,000shp
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		Size Image Description Contributed By
    /Source
    USS Jupiter (AK-43)
    Jupiter 77k
    Namesake
    Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant planet with a mass one-thousandth that of the Sun, but two-and-a-half times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined. Jupiter has been known to astronomers since antiquity. It is named after the Roman god Jupiter. Jupiter is the third brightest natural object in the night sky after the Moon and Venus.
    NASA - An image of Jupiter taken by the Hubble Space Telescope    		 Tommy Trampp
    Jupiter
    80-G-31879    		 84k USS Jupiter (AK-43) under way, circa 1942-1943, location unknown.
    US National Archives photo # 80-G-31879 and 80-G-31881, US Navy photos now in the collections of the US National Archives.    		 Mike Green
    Jupiter
    80-G-31881    		 77k
    Jupiter 140k Aft plan view of USS Jupiter (AK-43) at Oakland, CA., 14 March 1943.
    Navy Yard Mare Island photo # 1789-3-43, 3/14/43    		 Darryl Baker
    Jupiter 119k Forward plan view of USS Jupiter (AK-43) at Oakland, CA., 14 March 1943.
    Navy Yard Mare Island photo # 1790-3-43, 3/14/43    		 Darryl Baker
    Jupiter 71k Stern view of USS Jupiter (AK-43) off Alcatraz Island with Treasure Island and Oakland Bay Bridge in the background, 16 March 1943.
    Navy Yard Mare Island photo # 1817-3-43, 3/16/43    		 Darryl Baker
    Jupiter 71k Bow view of USS Jupiter (AK-43) off Alcatraz Island with Treasure Island and Oakland Bay Bridge in the background, 16 March 1943.
    Navy Yard Mare Island photo # 1821-3-43, 3/16/43    		 Darryl Baker
    Jupiter 105k USS Jupiter (AK-43) underway in San Francisco Bay, 16 March 1943, after minor alterations, including the conversion of her forward kingpost pair to a goalpost mast.
    US National Archives photo # 19-N-43413 a US Navy Bureau of Ships photo now in the collections of the US National Archives.    		 Mike Green
    USS Jupiter (AVS-8)
    Jupiter
    09500826    		 395k USS Jupiter (AVS-8) in dry dock at San Francisco Naval Shipyard, Hunters Point, 13 February 1946. Note the two destroyers in the adjacent drydock, Crane Ship (AB-1) in Berth 51, the destroyer getting up steam astern of AB-1 and the five LSTs at anchor in the bay.
    US National Archives photo # 80-G-365743, a US Navy photo now in the collections of the US National Archives.    		 Rick Davis
    Jupiter
    09500823    		 242k USS Jupiter (AVS-8) moored pierside, circa 1946-47, location unknown.
    Photos by ENC James Center who was onboard in 1946-47 as F2/c.    		 Jason Post
    Jupiter
    09500824    		 256k USS Jupiter (AVS-8) passing under the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, circa 1946-47.
    Photos by ENC James Center who was onboard in 1946-47 as F2/c.    		 Jason Post
    Jupiter
    09500825    		 246k USS Jupiter (AVS-8) moored pierside while working cargo, circa 1946-47.
    Photos by ENC James Center who was onboard in 1946-47 as F2/c.    		 Jason Post
    Jupiter 147k USS Jupiter (AVS-8) circa early 1951 loading a cargo of 20,000 aeronautical equipment items for issue to carriers and tenders servicing the Naval Air Force in the Korean War.
    US Navy photo courtesy Shipscribe.com    		 Mike Green
    Jupiter 121k USS Jupiter (AVS-8) comes alongside USS Valley Forge (CV-45) to transfer supplies, during operations off the Korean Coast. Photo, dated 21 February 1951.
    US National Archives photo # 80-G-427412, a US Navy photo now in the collections of the US National Archives.    		 US Naval Historical Center
    Jupiter 98k USS Jupiter (AVS-8) comes alongside USS Valley Forge (CV-45) to transfer supplies during operations off the Korean Coast. Photo, dated 21 February 1951. Note Jupiter's name painted above her bow hull number, a rather unusual practice.
    US National Archives photo # 80-G-427413, a US Navy photo now in the collection of the US National Archives    		 US Naval Historical Center
    Jupiter 46k USS Jupiter (AVS-8) underway in San Francisco Bay as she heads home to NAS Alameda, 11 August 1952. Jupiter is flying a homeward bound pennant. The two stars indicate she has served more than eighteen months overseas. Each foot of the pennant stands for every man aboard with one year overseas to his credit. Jupiter had been the only aviation supply ship in the Pacific since the outbreak of the Korean War.
    11th Naval District photo and PIO release.    		 Ron Reeves
    Jupiter 105k USS Jupiter (AVS-8) under way in the Sea of Japan, 1 August 1953. Photographed from USS Boxer (CVA-21).
    US Navy photo # NH 97586 from the collection of the US Naval Historical Center    		 US Naval Historical Center
    Jupiter 45k USS Jupiter (AVS-8) under way, date and location unknown.
    US Navy photo from "Jane's Fighting Ships" 1958-59 Edition.    		 Robert Hurst
    Jupiter 383k USS Jupiter (AVS-8) conducting an underway replenishment while alongside USS Lexington (CVA-16), circa 1956. The aircraft mix, with F7U Cutlasses, AJ-2 Savages from Composite Squadron Six (VC-6) "Fleurs" (tail code "NF"), and a few "U" tail codes visible, verify that this is Lexington with Air Task Group One (ATG-1) embarked, during (or close to) their 28 May-17 December 1956, WestPac cruise.
    US Navy photo.    		 George Clifford Jr.
    Jupiter
    09500827    		 224k USS Jupiter (AVS-8) conducting an underway replenishment with USS Shangri-La (CVA-38) during the carrier's 1956 WestPac deployment, 5 January–23 June 1956.
    Photos by CDR. Gerald Durbin, USN    		 Bob Canchola
    Jupiter
    09500828    		 268k
    Jupiter
    09500829    		 408k
    Jupiter 65k USS Jupiter (AVS-8) at anchor, date and location unknown. Stanley C. Svec
    Jupiter 131k USS Jupiter (AVS-8) under way, date and location unknown.
    US Navy negative from the US Naval Training Device Center (Recognition Training).    		 Tommy Trampp
    Aludra 120k USS Jupiter (AVS-8), in the right distance, makes her approach to take on fuel from USS Ponchatoula (AO-148) as USS Aludra (AF-55) at left, steams away after transferring stores. Photo taken from Ponchatoula, 23 August 1963, released with Commander Service Squadron THREE press release # 3-154. .
    US Navy photo # NH 104026 from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center    		 US Naval Historical Center
    Jupiter 126k USS Jupiter (AVS-8) under way, 28 July 1963. Note the addition of a helicopter deck aft in place of much of the ship's armament.
    US Naval History and Heritage Command Photo No. KN-9838    		 Mike Green
    Jupiter 20k USS Jupiter (AVS-8) at anchor, date and location unknown. Gunter Krebs
    USS Jupiter (AK-43 / AVS-8)
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01LCDR. Baker, Duncan Scott, USN22 August 1942 - 1944AK-43
    02CDR. Bristol, John Morgan :RADM1944 - 1945AK-43
    03LCDR. Whitaker, Thurman Albert, USNR1945 - ?AK-43
     Decommissioned23 May 1947 - 10 October 1950 
    06CDR. McKibbin, Hugh Robert10 October 1950 - November 1952AVS-8
    07CAPT. Coleman, Garrett SteeleNovember 1952 - 21 August 1953AVS-8
    08CAPT. Noble, Easton Beville21 August 1953 - June 1954AVS-8
    09CAPT. Jacoby, Raymond Bernard, USN (USNA 1939)June 1954 - April 1955AVS-8
    10CDR. Hampton, Isaiah MartinApril 1955 - April 1956AVS-8
    11CAPT. Barleon Jr., John Sherman (Jack), USN (USNA 1935)April 1956 - 1 July 1957AVS-8
    12CDR. Clifford, George Moore, USN (USN 1934)1 July 1957 - 30 July 1958AVS-8
    13CAPT. Preston, John Paul, USN (USNA 1936)30 July 1958 - June 1959AVS-8
    15CAPT. DeCamp, Louis Earle, USN (USNA 1938)June 1960 - July 1961AVS-8
    16CAPT. Duncan, George Chamberlain, USN (USNA 1939)July 1961 - 24 March 1962AVS-8
    17CAPT. Lynch, James Paul, USN (USNA 1941)24 March 1962 - 1 April 1963AVS-8
    18CAPT. Muckenthaler Jr., Charles Paul, USN1 April 1963 - 1 August 1965AVS-8
    Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler and Ron Reeves
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log
    Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
    MARAD Vessel History Database
    USS Jupiter (AK-43) War Diary 1942-1945
    USS Jupiter (AVS-8) War Diary / AK-43 / AVS-8 History and AVS-8 Action Reports, 1942-1945
    Postal Covers related to the ship
    Back To The Main Photo Index Back To The Service Force Ship Type Index Back To The Cargo Ship (AK) Photo Index Back To The Aviation Stores Issue Ship (AVS) Photo Index
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
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    Last Updated 24 May 2024